A Court of Silver Flames
Ratings596
Average rating4.2
This was not the book for me. Too many unbelievable parts and stretching of logic/magic to fit the crazy unnecessary drama that was added for this book.
4/5
En primerísimo lugar he de decir, lo muchísimo que me ha sorprendido este libro y para bien, no es nada que haya leído antes, sobre todo de Sarah J Mass. La razón por la que digo esto, es porque considero que cada saga de Sara se ha centrado en diferentes aspectos de la historia, como en Trono de Cristal, que, si bien como en todos sus libros conocemos a Celeana, Aelin y vemos una evolución emocional y una historia de amor, en lo que más centrado esta es en la trama y en la acción. Por otro lado, en los primeros libros de ACOTAR, se nos presenta una Feyre muy fuerte y decidida que, aunque está rota ha aprendido a sobreponerse desde siempre para proteger a su familia y se centró más en la historia de amor con Rhys, pero era algo más secundario. ¿Por qué quiero destacar esto? Porque considero muy importante ver como la autora ha roto con todo lo que venía escribiendo anteriormente y como por supuesto, ha jugado con nuestros cerebros y nuestros corazones.
Por otra parte, tenemos a Nesta, si bien yo nunca había sido muy partidaria de Nesta, y no voy a decir que la odiase, aunque sí he odiado muchos de sus comportamientos, sobre todo relativos a Feyre, siempre la he entendido. Entendía porque era como era, no lo respetaba, sigo sin hacerlo, pero lo entiendo. Partiendo de esta base, en este libro podemos ver los momentos más oscuros de la protagonista, nos hemos introducido plenamente en sus sentimientos, en su corazón. Este libro, lo considero un camino, hemos caminado al lado de Nesta en cada momento de su recuperación, en cada momento de dolor, de alegría, de desesperanza, cada vez que veía un poco de luz, pero volvía a encerrarse en si misma porque no era capaz de dejar entrar a nadie por temor. Creo que todos hemos sido Nesta alguna vez, o lo seremos en algún momento de nuestras vidas, creo que muchos comprendemos por lo que ha pasado ella, que miramos a nuestro pasado y no estamos orgullosos de cosas que hemos hecho, dicho, pero yo creo que lo más importante en estos casos es no arrepentirse, sobreponerse, aprender a vivir con ello y seguir viviendo, porque de eso trata esta historia, de aprender a como seguir viviendo, de aprender a vivir. “No sobrevivir, sino vivir” guiño, guiño.
Por lo tanto, sí estoy muy feliz de que Sara haya escrito este libro, de haber leído cada una de sus 700 y pico páginas, porque cada palabra en él merece absolutamente la pena. Y me siento orgullosa de Nesta, sí, sí habéis oído bien me siento orgullosa. ¿Si bien, os preguntareis y porque le das solo 4 estrellas al final? Pues bien, el asunto es que los libros de Sara me sorprenden, nunca se, lo que va a pasar a continuación y con este, pues bueno, básicamente se intuía como iba a desarrollarse todo y ha habido para mi gusto falta de acción.
También, quiero contaros sobre Cassian, ese murciélago maldito, majestuoso hombre con alas maravilloso, inquebrantable de corazón noble y valiente...sí, ese...ya sabéis el buenorro... Me ha encantado, yo ya le amaba, aunque siempre le he visto como ese amigo fiel, esa persona en la que siempre se puede confiar y que es una persona íntegra que, aunque haya pasado por sus momentos más oscuros ha aprendido a vivir con ellos y ayuda a todo aquel que lo necesita, que, aunque su odio o amor, le ciegue siempre sabe ver más allá de las personas. Y es que Cassian, es bueno, bueno, tiene un corazón puro y maravilloso y me ha encantado conocerle en más aspectos...como en la cama...para que mentirnos. Si como amigo es genial, como amante es aun mejor y no creo que haya nadie mejor para Nesta que Cassian, alguien que nunca se rinde y que nunca va a dejar que te tropieces y si lo haces, él estará allí para levantarte. Y amo, muchísimo, todas y cada una de sus escenas con Feyre y con Rhys y sobre todo cuando piensa en ellos, sobre todo en Feyre, porque obviamente Rhys es su hermano, pero ama a Feyre de verdad y lo muestra muchísimo. También, siempre tiene esa aura de estar agradecido que hace que se me encoja el corazón.
En cuanto a Feyre, hemos visto poquitas escenas de ella, como es obvio, pero cada vez que la hemos visto ha sido en momentos en los que se nos refleja su fuerza, como ha superado cada uno de los obstáculos que se le han puesto delante y ha seguido adelante con la cabeza alta y decidida a nunca darse por vencida.
Elain suspirosuspiro no se que decir, yo...no se...a ver sé que Sara nos está dejando un montón de “Easter Eggs” sobre ella sacando las garras y tal, pero no sé, sigo sin saber. Quizá el próximo libro nos dé una Elain que salga del caparazón, pero quizá necesite verlo para comprenderlo. Porque a Nesta era capaz de verla antes, pero a ella, no sé, no la trago. Y POR SI A ALGUIEN NO LE HA QUEDADO CLARO NO SHIPEO A AZ Y ELAIN.
Creo que vamos a tener mucho Eris por delante, se nos va a descubrir un futuro Lord de la corte otoño que nos va a sorprender y creo que vamos a conocer cosas de él que nos van a permitir entender porque se comporta de esa manera y que le ha llegado a ser como es. Lo cual me recuerda, que Mor casi no ha hecho acto de presencia en este libro, pero ha habido ciertas intrigas, que me hacen pensar que también en el próximo libro tendremos mucho de Mor.
Por último, destacar que me han encantado los personajes nuevos y van a darle mucho juego a la trama. Ahi lo dejo.
I've finally done it. I've finally read ACOSF! Since it was released I was doing my best to keep my eyes off all the buzz, though when it comes to this series, that's hard to do. I did enjoy most of this book. Maas is an author who excels that building up her characters and world, sometimes for chapters at a time, which can make plot pacing seem choppy here and there (though nothing I mind too much, as I do appreciate a strong world with a strong system - be that magic, political, or otherwise - when reading). My gripes have to do with how QUICKLY the book ended...and fell flat. We are given hundreds of pages of in-depth character interactions and Nesta grows beautifully...only to have the bloody end be concluded with a ‘sacrifice' I didn't totally love. Nesta had progressed into such a strong woman...only to give away all her powers (but plot twist! Your super powerful warrior girl changed her anatomy so she can have a baby.)
When I read that part, despite all I had really enjoyed about ACOSF, this was my face (I'm not kidding):
Not only can I just NOT see Nesta as a mother (Aunt Nesta is something I can see...but a mother? No.), but it also widdles her character down into the same, tired trope of “all women, regardless of personality, inevitably want to be mothers.” Never mind the fact that it is totally inconsistent with her character. And yes, I know she did this to save Feyre, but you're telling me Maas could think of NO other way for Nesta to ~redeem~ herself + save her sister without wholly giving up the power she'd just learned to wield? For Christ's sake!
Honestly, had the ending not been what it was, this book would have been a 3 or 4 stars - not perfect, maybe, but strong enough and enjoyable. But that ending...boy, oh boy, did it leave a bad taste in my mouth.
I get that I am in a minority of reviewers here, and hey, I love Nessian just as much as the next! But in my [sometimes not-so-humble], yet completely SUBJECTIVE opinion (isn't that what all book reviews are, the good and the bad?), the ending tarnished a character I had grown to love.
I was expecting to give this book 5 stars up until the last part but the fact that Emrie and Gwyn won the Blood Right didn't make sense tome. They have only been training for a couple months, and yet they were able to win a dangerous competition that only few have won before them? I'm all for strong independent woman, but this just didn't make sense to me. There are Bat Faeries have been training their entire lives and don't even get close to the mountain to win. Emrie and Gwyn and Nesta were training for months. It just annoyed me more that it should. I'll probably write a review about it later.
Nesta is trash! Cassian still deserves better. I did like this more than I thought I would though. But overall this isn't a good Maas book. It lacks the twists she's known for. I just expected more from a book that's 751 pages.
What I didn't expect was this book to be so sexually explicit. At some parts I thought to myself I'm not old enough to read this and I'm 37.
The cover is butt ugly. I listened to this book also and the narrator was so over the top. She over emphasized everything. I don't regret reading/listening. It was a journey. I'm not convinced it was necessary but here we are nonetheless.
This book is not good and I'll tell you why. Nesta's presented as a character with serious trauma and her coping methods are sex, music, and alcohol.
Surprise! She starts having sex with Cassian. Now, the sex scenes are disgusting and borderline savage (and not presented as romantic at all). But ya girl could get down with the kinks IF Cassian wasn't basically abusing her by taking advantage of her vulnerability and one of her only coping mechanisms. This is presented as romantic because Cassian is so head-over-heels for her that he can't keep it in his pants long enough for her to have a little character growth.
Add on to this the fact that Nesta is horrible to literally everyone and this book becomes unreadable. She literally is not given a single redeeming quality and her behavior crosses the line from “Kind of nasty but wounded” to “I don't care about anyone and I'm going to hurt everyone no matter what.” There is not enough character development within the first half of this book to bother with reading the second half. Don't waste your money and just stick to the first three books.
Absolutely loved this book, Maas made me hate Nesta and now she made me love her again. As per the rest of the series, each character and their stories are beautifully written and woven together, this was truly a pleasure to read.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly!
I kept getting told this book is spicy (and it is) but it is about so much more than that. It's about trauma and healing, about the love of family - both born and found. About the enduring strength of female friendships.
I will always quibble about this series often less than stellar world building but it fades away in the face of how thoroughly enjoyable the stories are.
I loved it! I had a really good time reading it.
I wasn't sure I was gonna read this yet, because Nesta has never been a favorite of mine. But this was a perfect fit for my readathon this month, so I decided why not; because I knew I would definitely read it someday. This still has some of the best parts of SJM's writing - engaging and entertaining with great female friendships. The bond between Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie was definitely the highlight of this novel for me.
But everything else felt like a letdown. The whole idea of the hero helping the heroine get through her trauma seems like a predictable trope for every novel of the author, and while I understand it's an important topic to explore, it becomes boring when you read it multiple times in the same series. Nesta is also mostly insufferable and despite whatever redemption arc she got, it wasn't enough for me to like her. And because of that, the romance didn't make me feel much. The plot of a looming war and the story arc of the villain also had a very underwhelming resolution. And as this series and the author's writing has gone by, the excessive use of “male” and “female” have started to grate on me even more.
Overall, this was an okay read and probably those who love Nesta's character will enjoy it more than me. It's also probably SJM's weakest works in terms of plot and that left me slightly disappointed despite keeping my expectations low. However, she does end the book on an interesting note and I would be fascinated to see where the story goes next.
Contains spoilers......
I am blown away by Nesta's story. The pain she went thru and how she healed from it was an amazing thing to read. Her relationship with Cassian was just beautiful. He is the perfect mate for her.
The way she became friends with Gwyn and Emerie, when they we all broken in their own ways and true friendships were built from that.
Rebuilding her relationship with her sisters, I don't think my heart could take much more.
I loved everything about this book.
I loved seeing more of Cassian's story.
I didn't want it to end, I wanted more. I read it so slow so it wouldn't end and it still ended to soon.
I know I will be reading this series again soon.
Appreciated this and a deeper dive into nesta's psyche. Loved the feminine power throughout. Was pretty turned off by how explicit the book was—felt like it really ramped up for this one. Perhaps it's because I listened to the audiobook this time around but...dang. Just a lot of content where I was like
I loved it, these characters will always be my favorite. I cried, the sister moments are so raw.
Books, Coffee & Passion
I didn't read any reviews because I didn't want to be influenced before writing this post and it will be a long one with spoilers! So, please stop reading if you didn't read ACOSF and you still want to read it.
A Court of Silver Flames was a rollercoaster. I was very entertained while reading Nesta and Cassian's story. These two were so hot together! After reading ACOFAS, we all knew their story would be a tough journey. Nesta wasn't making it easy for anyone, she isolated herself and she was lashing out repeatedly. I didn't expect a smooth journey. It wasn't. The mental health struggles that Nesta was going through in ACOSF, and before, were hard to read, which only means it was well done. As a reader, and loving Cassian like I already did, it was sometimes hard to not be annoyed with Nesta. She hurt Cassian repeatedly, she lashed at him again and again and sometimes I was annoyed at her because of that. It was also hard not to be annoyed when Nesta dismissed Feyre, Cassian and Rhy's traumas. I get that it was her own self loathing and the fact that she was spiraling, drowning in her own grief and depression talking. But it was even harder when she kept repeating the cycle. However, that's just the thing with mental health, it's different for everyone, it has lots of ups and downs, a good day and then three awful days and/or vice versa. Nesta was definitely stuck in a depressive, self destructive pattern. Her struggles with mental health, the messages to keep going, Amren telling Cassian to keep reaching out his hand, the mind-stilling technique, her growth and her healing were really well done. In my opinion SJM did great regarding the mental health rep.There were a lot of great moments in this book. I loved Nesta's found family: Emerie and Gwyn. These two were amazing characters, the way they bonded with Nesta, the way all three of them opened up to each other: PERFECTION. Valkyries, yeeees! I loved that aspect of the story and cheered when Gwyn finally cut the ribbon. I enjoyed their moments together and I hope we get more of their bond in the next books in the series. I also loved the House, the fact that Nesta wished for a friend and the House fulfilled her wish by becoming her friend was so good! The romance novels love was amazing too. The inner circle moments, even though Mor wasn't in much of the story, felt special. The Blood Rite had stunning, fierce scenes, particularly the scene where they share their fears and the traumas they went through, it was very emotional and so well written. Emerie carrying a sleeping, unwilling to leave Nesta alone, Gwyn to victory and Nesta holding the line was one of the most stunning impactful scenes that definitely stayed with me.I enjoyed the plot in this book too. The Trove and its history, the quest to find the made objects was enthralling. Nesta's scenes with the kelpie were amazing and it actually scared me when she was pulled underwater. Beron and the Autumn Court involvement with Briallyn kept me invested in the story and I kept second guessing if Eris was playing Rhys and Cassian and was involved in Briallyn's plans as well. There were some things that annoyed me: Rhys withholding from Feyre that she and the baby can die when she gives birth was awful and I hated that he did that; Nesta telling Feyre about that in anger was nasty; the dying not dying part that apparently is a recurring thing in ACOTAR's books annoyed me too. I enjoyed how Nesta ended up saving Feyre and telling her, finally!, she loved her but it could have been done differently. Especially considering that Nesta gave away all her power to save Feyre which is just repetitive again (because it's similar to what Amren did in ACOWAR). Additionally, that mating bond reaction... I think it was unnecessary and it only served the purpose of pushing Cassian off scene and snatching Nesta, Emerie and Gwyn together for the Blood Rite. However, my main issue with ACOSF is a issue that I've also had with ACOMAF and ACOWAR: everything was solved so easily. I enjoyed the prison visit but the fact that Lanthys was killed like that felt anticlimactic and the battle between Nesta and Briallyn went the same way, it was over in a blink of an eye.
Overall, I really enjoyed ACOSF. There were beautifully written scenes and it was very entertaining, with great banter, lots of steamy moments and powerful, emotional connections. I was captivated by the story, had trouble putting the book down and I absolutely love this addictive world. On the other hand, like I said there were things that annoyed me and the major one was how easily somethings were solved to the point it felt anticlimatic.
If you want to check my sidenotes and Azriel/Lucien/Gwynn/Elaine stuff, check my full thoughts (with spoilers too)here.
DNF 50% I love myself too much to finish this.
I only enjoyed a book and a half of this whole series.
How do you end a series with a standalone arce?!
SJM doesn't seem to be capable of turning the heat past 5 or 6 at most. While this wasn't as boring as the previous 3.1 novella, it's still terrible. This is just a training montage that lasts for 750+pages. No one is likeable and in the most dumb way possible.
The weak feminist aspects don't even give the book more points, just boring stuff like “Did you know this race of beings treat their females like trash?” No nuance just saying things for the same of saying them.
Nesta, Nesta, Nesta! I was pleased when my bestie alerted me that she is the star of this one.
****SPOILERS AHEAD****
I was also pleased to find that Maas' ability to write sex scenes, which I already found competent, has increased across this series. What this obviously means is that she should next turn her growing abilities to a book with Mor and whomever her lady love turns out to be, for one of the upcoming ones!
But back to this book - I read someone else's comment that another of Maas' skills is presenting a couple you root for, then demolishing your love for them with an even better one, and so on. I really do like Nesta and Cassian together, because Cassian has many of Rhys' good qualities, minus some of his bad (like his terrible habit of attempting to protect loved ones by withholding information from them - dude, get over yourself!!).
I will say that a corner Maas has backed herself into is one I heard someone talking about re: the Marvel franchise: if every character has world-ending powers, then all the conflicts are bombastic in a way that can eventually get boring! Maas has a related but different plot issue: if Rhys is really the most powerful High Lord who has ever lived, and Feyre is his equal, could they really not just have tweaked her pelvis for childbirth on their own? I say that because I love Nesta best as her Death God self, so I was a little sad to see her powers diminished (and think it would have been potentially more interesting to see her continue to wrestle with walking away from the option of total world domination). That loops us back to the Marvel issue, though, which is if Nesta stayed a Death God, what would the conflict in the next book look like? So I'm not smart enough to have a solution, just smart enough to see the issue, lol. Carry on, Maas, I guess!
This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: A Court of Silver Flames
Forced to become high fey, Nesta loathes her very existence. She never asked for the immense power inside of her and the nightmares. Nesta no longer feels like she even fits into her own skin, let alone being able to find a place to call home. She would rather drown herself in alcohol than come to terms with her new reality. But Feyre is done providing her sister an easy escape and forces her to train with Cassien. Nesta loathes the male and seethes as she is given the choice to move into the House of Wind and begin training, or else be thrown into the human lands. Lands where the human queens have begun to plot against the fey. Aligning themselves with powerful allies and chasing old legends to gain power. The queens quickly become a new threat that must be dealt with.
Nesta did not immediately grab my attention when she was first introduced to the series. Her personality was too cruel for me, but after seeing a peek inside of her head during A Court of Frost and Starlight I wanted to give her story a try. Watching Nesta come to terms with her new reality and the mistakes of her past was an intense journey. Once I was able to piece together who Nesta was, I understood her better and though I still didn't like her personality I was curious to see where the story would take her.
Nesta has an internal battle plaguing her as she also deals with complications from PTSD. Unwilling to show her weakness to others, she would rather lash out and keep people at arm's length. She is a character who spares no one mercy. As the story progresses people continue to chip away at the ice surrounding Nesta, and she fights tooth and nail against them. When the story focused on Nesta's development it was brutal and intense. I enjoyed every moment of seeing Nesta learn how to communicate and form emotional ties to people once again. But unfortunately, the majority of A Court of Silver Flames is sex.
The previous installments in this series did have sex, but they also had beautiful storytelling. They had world-building that slowly expanded with each new addition, battles, magic and so much more outside of romantic relationships. There was a balance between the romance and the plot development. However, readers will barely hear about the queens. If anything, the growing unrest is the background plot. I wanted to know more about the queens, the ancient powers and see Nesta more involved with what was happening. If Sarah J. Maas would develop her entire plot like she did the last portion of A Court of Silver Flames. I would have enjoyed it so much more.
This series has steered away from telling a story to writing about adult fantasies which are not my cup of tea. This happened when I read Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, where the plot ceased to even exist. And I'm not sure I want to stand by and continue to watch such a wonderful series deteriorate. Sorry, my fellow bookish friends, I know many of you love this series, but I believe this is where my journey ends.